University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Gardner-Webb
Volleyball Comeback Falls Just Short at Gardner-Webb
09.26.2014 | Women's Volleyball
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The UNC Asheville volleyball team made a dramatic comeback at Gardner-Webb Friday night but fell just short as the Runnin' Bulldogs held off the Bulldogs in five sets at Porter Arena.
Gardner-Webb won the match, 25-22, 25-14, 17-25, 19-25, 15-11. Asheville fell to 3-13 overall and 0-1 in league play. The Runnin' Bulldogs improved to 8-11 overall and 1-0.
Christine Lakatos paced Asheville with a double-double, posting 18 digs and a match-high 16 kills, while Shelby Erickson added 15 smashes and a pair of service aces. Katie Davis recorded a double-double of her own with 39 assists and 11 digs, as Bryn Pfeiffer chipped in 25 digs.
Trailing 2-0, the Bulldogs stormed back after intermission as they kicked off the set with a 9-5 run before Gardner-Webb responded with a 7-4 spurt of its own, trimming the margin to 13-12 on a kill by Dyson. Asheville quickly answered with three straight points to begin an 11-3 surge, which gave the Bulldogs a 24-15 advantage before a Gardner-Webb miscue cut the lead to 2-1 in the match.
The Runnin' Bulldogs fought back early in the fourth, answering a set-opening 5-1 spurt with five straight points of their own to claim a narrow 6-5 advantage on a Starr kill. Asheville would quickly answer with a 12-4 surge, taking a 17-10 lead following an Erickson smash before Lakatos stretched the margin to 21-14 with a kill of her own.
Gardner-Webb responded with five of the next seven points, closing the gap to 23-19 before Asheville countered, recording back-to-back tallies to take the set and force a deciding fifth frame.
In the fifth set, Asheville trailed 9-5 before rallying to cut the lead to 10-9 on two kills from Erickson. But the home team scored four of the next five points to build a 14-10 lead. GWU was able to hold for the victory.
UNC Asheville has a week off before heading back to Justice Center to start league play at home. The Bulldogs host defending BSC champion Radford next Friday night at 7 p.m.
